Fireflies Pitcher Crismatt Named SAL Pitcher of the Week

COLUMBIA, SC (Fireflies) – Fireflies starting pitcher Nabil Crismatt was named the South Atlantic League Pitcher of the Week for the week of August 8-14, the league announced Monday.

In his start on August 13 against the Greensboro Grasshoppers, Crismatt struck out 10 batters – one shy of his career-high – over seven shut-out innings. The native of Barranquilla, Colombia, scattered just two hits over those seven frames and helped the Fireflies to a 1-0 win on Saturday night. It was just his second start with Columbia, but arguably the best in his five-year career.

“No matter where I pitch, it’s the same baseball and the same spots I need to hit,” Crismatt told MiLB.com after the start. “I was feeling pretty good [on Saturday]. I was trying to hit my spots and make my pitches. I don’t know, I never try to strike out anybody, I just try to throw the ball where I want to throw the ball.”

The 21-year-old has struck out 17 hitters in his first two starts with Columbia. That’s the most for any Fireflies pitcher over his first two outings. Crismatt was promoted to Columbia’s roster on August 5.

“I tell you what, he was prepared,” Fireflies manager Jose Leger said. “Pitch number one, I saw it, and I’m thinking, ‘man, he knows what he’s doing.’ He does a really good job with his tempo on the mound, he works fast. He has a really good changeup that he can throw in to both righties and lefties.”

The righty owns a 1.32 ERA as a Firefly. Including the eight appearances he made earlier this season with the New York Mets short-season A affiliate, the Brooklyn Cyclones, Crismatt has fanned 52 batters and walked just six. Last year pitching for the Kingsport Mets, the Colombian posted the fourth-best strikeout-to-walk ratio (5.3:1) in the Appalachian League.

The Mets signed Crismatt as a 16-year-old on August 3, 2011. He made his professional baseball debut for the Dominican Summer League Mets in 2012. The talented pitcher is also on the Colombian national baseball team that will make its debut in the 2017 World Baseball Classic in March.

Crismatt and the Fireflies head to McCormick Field in Asheville, North Carolina, to take on the Tourists on Tuesday night at 7:05 p.m. You can listen to the action on WGCV 620 AM and 96.3 FM, ColumbiaFireflies.com and the TuneIn Radio app starting at 7:00 p.m.